


Admirable

by leopardeyes



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, hey @bandainamco please give ryuu's bros more attention xx
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leopardeyes/pseuds/leopardeyes
Summary: I just really love Ryuu and I want his brothers to have some personalitiesI hope I wrote them decently enough





	Admirable

Soutaro groaned, staring at his textbook and hoping the knowledge would just somehow absorb. He told himself all week that he would study for the test and - unsurprisingly - on the night before the exam, he realised he knew nothing. Outside his window were birds, black against the orange sunset, soaring over the wide sea. At that time the waves were calm, gently caressing the sand then folding back as if bashful for ever getting so close. But Soutaro had seen the waves during storms, when they would crash against rocks, spraying foam over the jagged cliff edges. He liked it most that way. When the tide came right to the edge of the beach, swallowing up as much land as possible. At those times, the sea appeared angry and dangerous, but it was the one moment when it showed its true colours; it didn't hold back, it didn't try and be something it wasn't. The waves showed the full extent of their personality, and Soutaro thought that was admirable.

He wished he was a bird out there, free to do whatever he wanted and observe the sea all day. But he was cooped up in his room, studying for an exam he would forget about by the next week, like a prisoner held in a cell. And the textbook wasn't getting any easier to understand.

Standing up and almost tripping over a pile of clothes, Soutaro walked to his bedroom door. Back when he shared the room with Ryunosuke, it retained at least a small fraction of its tidiness. By now, "tidiness" was a word Soutaro didn't know the meaning of. At least he had his own room now, but he missed being scolded for making everything so messy. He kind of missed it. Actually, he was glad he no longer got so scolded, but that didn't fill the emptiness the room now carried.

Upon leaving his room, he noticed a quiet sizzling sound coming from downstairs. He followed it, not caring what it was, just happy to have food. And an excuse to not study.

"Hey, Kou," Soutaro said, entering the kitchen. "What're you cooking-" he stopped his own sentence abruptly when he saw pork frying in a pan that both him and Kounosuke were eyeing hungrily. While it made him even hungrier knowing they would eat pork, he was disappointed as only three days ago, Kounosuke announced he would become vegetarian (so he could honour a certain idol he admired). Soutaro was disappointed, but not surprised.

"Pork is a vegetable," Kounosuke muttered, more to himself than to Soutaro. "And shouldn't you be studying? You'll fail another exam if you continue procrastinating like this."

"That's no way you should be speaking to your big brother," Soutaro said, folding his arms. Kounosuke didn't turn around - keeping his eyes fixed on the pork - so didn't see Soutaro's pose, which only made him more irritated. What's the point of being angry if the person can't see your anger?

"Are you angry?"

"I'm not angry!"

Kounosuke quietly laughed to himself. There was no doubt the guy had already studied for all his exams and was fully prepared for everything in the following year, and at that point was in the process of telling his classmates all the wrong information so he would have an advantage over them. Soutaro considered the possibility of his brother secretly being an evil mastermind trapped in the body of a thirteen-year-old.

"Food's done," Kounosuke lined up three plates. "Do you want some, or are you still angry at me?"

"As I said, I'm not angry!" Soutaro helped him prepare everyone's meals, adding the finishing touches to the pork. Kounosuke handed him three plates. "... Is Dad not eating with us?"

"This morning he said he wouldn't get back from work until late," Kounosuke said. "I hope he's safe. The waves will get rougher later, and that's dangerous for sailors. Boats can easily get swallowed up by the sea, and… Well, I hate when the sea seems angry."

They continued in silence.

Sometimes, when waves are vicious, they result in terrible consequences. There's a reason why beaches are always in solitude on stormy days. Even if it's admirable that the waves are genuine, perhaps it's better for everyone that they stay calm. Because the real personality of the ocean - the less beautiful side - is that it's the cause of so many accidents. Large, destructive waves look better on photographs, after all.

Soutaro's phone buzzed in his pocket and he opened it to see a text from his dad. An image was attached of him and some friends holding glasses of beer and looking horrendously drunk. After all that depressing talk, the old man was just out drinking. Kounosuke looked over Soutaro's shoulder and sighed.

"He'd better not expect us to come and get him," Kounosuke said, to which Soutaro also sighed and nodded in agreement.

Booming thuds echoed throughout the house, making the walls shake, almost leading Soutaro to believe an earthquake was happening. After turning around he saw the tiny ball of sunshine that was his youngest brother, Kotaro, and wondered how someone so small could make a noise so loud.

"Is dinner ready? Let me help!" Kotaro beamed, and Kounosuke handed him a plate to put on the table. He carried it as if it were a crown he was presenting to a king, and he had a look of pure pride on his face, like he was pouring his heart and soul into such a simple task.

Everyone sat around the table, digging into the food. Soutaro seemed to swallow it all in one gulp, wolfing it down as if someone would steal it from him. Kounosuke seemed hesitant to eat the pork, feeling guilty about breaking his three-day vegetarianism, but ultimately followed Soutaro's influence of desperately eating like an animal. While Kotaro didn't seem quite as passionate about the food as his older brothers, he also took to enjoying his food in a similar way, until the three of them sat like a pack of lions devouring their prey. Any previous calm or dignified atmosphere was sapped from the room.

When they finished, they exploded in giggles, neither one of them exactly sure why they started doing that.

"Hey, Souta, Kou, let's watch TV together," Kotaro gently grabbed at Soutaro's sleeve in an affectionate way.

"Huh? Why?" Soutaro said.

"There's a show on tonight, and Trigger will be appearing as guests."

"You mean the show that Re:vale's also on?" Kounosuke turned on the TV and began flicking through channels. "Yuki, please forgive me, I've betrayed your veganism…" he mumbled before sitting on the couch, bringing Kotaro with him, then turning to Soutaro and patting the space beside him. Soutaro was reluctant to join them at first, but gave in when he saw their hopeful smiling faces.

The show was honestly boring. All they did was get interviewed about what kind of women they like, their favourite holiday spots, and other irrelevant details that Soutaro couldn't care less about. Those guys were idols, so they should at least sing a song, or do a dance, or anything that's more entertaining than this. As usual, Ryuu was doing a terrible job at pretending to be sexy. It was so obvious, Soutaro wondered how all of Japan hadn't found out about his real personality yet.

He didn't see why Ryuu had to hide his true feelings, either. The caring older brother Soutaro knew was much more appealing than the erotic beast he was marketed as. It was embarrassing to watch, considering how oblivious Ryuu was around women back when he was in Okinawa. At least Gaku didn't pretend to be someone he wasn't. According to the phone calls he'd had with Ryuu, Gaku's personality on-stage was almost identical to how he behaved at home, and Soutaro thought that was admirable.

But he did make a mental note of how Ryuu is a much better older brother than what Gaku would be. Gaku would probably take them to an aquarium and accidentally leave them there.

"Do you have a favourite, Souta?" Kotaro asked.

"No, not really-"

"His favourite is definitely Gaku," Kounosuke cut in. "Have you heard what Ryuu says about him? There's no way Souta wouldn't be a fan of someone like him."

"You're right!" Kotaro said. "We should see a Trigger concert together!"

"Uh, well, it's not like I'm exactly a fan of him," Soutaro said, shifting his position and avoiding eye contact. "I just… admire him? Yeah, kind of like that. I'm not a huge fan though."

"Liar," said Kounosuke.

"Liar," agreed Kotaro.

They continued watching the show, eventually falling asleep on the couch together. The orange sky turned to dark blue, and rays of moonlight shone through the window onto the three of them. Even if their older brother wasn't physically by their side, they could still feel his warmth emanating all the way from Tokyo. They would always be a family, and nothing could ever ruin that. Though they felt incomplete without Ryuu, they could still wear carefree smiles knowing he was doing it all for their sake.


End file.
